Ritums' works in Tartu, Estonia

On Wednesday, November 21st at 5 p.m. the exhibition JAUNUMS! FRESH LATVIAN PAINTING will be opened at Tartu Art House (Estonia). The exhibition will remain open until December 16th, 2012

Exhibition "Jaunums! Fresh Latvian Painting" tries to give a short synopsis of the present situation in Latvian painting for the Estonian audience. Over the last two decades the once close cultural relationship between Estonia and Latvia – two nations who share the same border and a common history – has sadly gotten colder. At the same time it cannot be denied that the sensibilities shared by the artists in the two countries are very similar indeed.

The aim of the present exhibition is to map out the various strata in Latvian contemporary painting – different styles, outlooks and artistic values have been incorporated without discrimination to offer the viewer a multifaceted overview. It proves that high-level traditions haven't disappeared and painting flourishes with diversity. All the authors have different handwritings, but they form an ensamble with a shared quality that showcases our common roots and similar mentalities. This, in turn, makes it all the more obvious why the exhibition takes place in Tartu – the historic and present day painting capital of Estonia.

KASPARS BRAMBERGS uses tangible and earthly materials – sand, marble dust, top soil – to create landscapes from places where the earth and the sky never meet as a horizon. KRISTAPS ĢELZIS, who represented his country at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, brings us raw and visceral atmospheric samplings that have been created especially for Tartu. One of Latvia's most recognized and marketed contemporary artists RITUMS IVANOVS uses his masterful technique to show us our present day family members – the superstars – in precisely the way we see them and not the way we imagine them to be. VINETA KAULAČA offers hyperrealist sleek cityscapes that are forever static and are waiting for people to inhabit and use them. INGA MELDERE's minuscule canvases form the beginnings and ends of stories that combine in ways that require the viewer's participation for the narrative to be completed. Recently elected head of the Painting Department at Latvian Art Academy ANDRIS VĪTOLIŅŠ exhibits his "documentary" memories of the post-apocalyptic remnants of the financial crisis and real estate boom. PAULA ZARIŅA's semi-abstract fairytale visions may show us only half-glimpsed inhabitants, but their mere presence makes us search for these places in our surroundings.

These seven artists form a combination of well-known stars and up-and-coming talents who represent the many faces of Latvian painting. An introduction for beginners. The window needs to be cracked open every once in a while to let in a fresh breeze.